yardboy Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 spiralfluorescentsareworthlessfor growinganycoralsonlygoodforrefugiumLalanissuggestionforFinnexisgood. Link to comment
Lalani Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 spiralfluorescentsareworthlessfor growinganycoralsonlygoodforrefugiumLalanissuggestionforFinnexisgood. Thanks for that! Link to comment
leofromdade305 Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 wat about 4 florecent lights 2 daylights and 2 true actinic 20 watts each to a total of 80 watts plus my 50/50 pc 28 watts fixture ? wat about 4 florecent lights 2 daylights and 2 true actinic 20 watts each to a total of 80 watts plus my 50/50 pc 28 watts fixture ? there not t5's. Thanks for that! by the way ty guys for helping me figure out wat to do im going crazy lol Link to comment
Lalani Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 No problem. As long as the daylight bulbs are somewhere around 10,000k or 12,000k, I would say that would be enough light to keep zoas, mushrooms, GSP, xenia, and some other softies. Link to comment
yardboy Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 OK, I'm not going to say it can't be done, read some of this website Unfortunately if you are going crazy now, after reading some of GARF's site you may go over the edge, but they do use NO fluorescents to start out, but eventually go to VHO fluorescents. Link to comment
Lalani Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 Geez, that site is packed with info, huh? Link to comment
leofromdade305 Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 OK, I'm not going to say it can't be done, read some of this websiteUnfortunately if you are going crazy now, after reading some of GARG's site you may go over the edge, but they do use NO fluorescents to start out, but eventually go to VHO fluorescents. yes yes muhahahaha weve come to an agreement ohh god ty im going crazy over here eventually ill just add a 400 watt mh 14k or a 250 mh over it sow this is just for now but ty muhahahahahah lmao j/k about the 400 watt mh but will do 250 hopefully in the next 3 weeks or sow . Link to comment
yardboy Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Geez, that site is packed with info, huh? Packed, but not in any particular order! They've been around so long, it'd take an army to organize that site, but I've gotten some great information from them, and I like some of their philosophy. Link to comment
starfish609 Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Really like your tank and setup! Look forward to seeing future developments. Sorry to hear about your fish. I am planning a 15G (24x12x12) or 20H (24x12x16) and was wondering if you had any thoughts on the differences between the tanks. I figured since the footprint was the same you might have thought about this as well. I like the "looks" better of a 15G but wonder if it is better to go for the 20H for the extra buffering, maybe it doesn't make that much a difference. Any thoughts? You seem to be pleased with the Finnex lights and I am now thinking of getting them (you got a deal as the price has gone up). Cheers Link to comment
Lalani Posted March 24, 2008 Author Share Posted March 24, 2008 Hey starfish609, I didn't realize that the price went up since I bought that fixture. I finally had a bit of good luck. Like you said, the only differences between the 15 and 20H is the height. I am please with the look of the 20H, but if you like the 15 more, go with it. I did consider the 15gal., but decided to go with the extra 5gal. so I could keep another small goby (along with a pair of occ. clownfish and a clown goby). Thats basically what it all came down to! The 15, since it is only 12" tall, is a little easier to light. The same fixture that I have would be great for it if you plan on keeping similar corals (low-med light). I can't find the link right now, but there is a T5HO fixture out there for $35 that is 2x24w. You could put two of those together over the tank for only $70. I'll try to find it again. Link to comment
starfish609 Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 Thanks Lalani. I believe I know the lights you are speaking of: http://fishneedit.com/t5ho-ligh.html. Lighting has been tough to figure out, but now that I figured out what I am interested in keeping (soft corals and hopefully mini brittle-stars, chitons, limpets and other interesting invertebrates) it is making more sense. Tough choice between the lights though. The fishneedit lights are cheap but I worry about the safety of them. I haven't heard anything bad about the Finnex (besides the lack of individual reflectors, which I don't think will be a problem for what I am planning on keeping relative to tank depth). But then again, they could both be made in the same factory with the same components. So, if I understand you correct, the extra 5 gallons will make a difference for the bioload of "extra" fish, but not so much a difference in buffering the system as a whole - all things considered. I do have one more question for you. I am unsure of the risks of the heater in the AC110 (I can't see it in your tank so I assume it's there). I guess if the heater fails you have a problem no matter where it is, but if the AC110 fails with a heater in it what happens? Also, I am surprised you can get away with a 50W heater in a 20H. I look forward to updates of your tank. Cheers Link to comment
Lalani Posted March 24, 2008 Author Share Posted March 24, 2008 Thats the fixture I was thinking about, but like you said, we don't know about the quality of them. When I was still in the planning stages, I had pretty much narrowed down my choices to either the Finnex or a Viper MH fixture. I chose to go with the T5HO because of less heat and power...... and price! The extra five gallons will give you the option for a fourth small fish, without pushing the bioload limits too much. As long as I keep up with water maintanence, that should be fine. Actually, the extra five gallons does help with buffering the system the same way having a 5gal. sump on a 10gal tank helps. It just was not my main concern. Yes, I have a 50w heater in the AC110. I make myself check the temp quite often, and I'm sure that if the AC pump fails, the heater will shut off once out of water. My house never gets cold, maybe 73 at its coldest, so the water does not have too far to drop. Once, the heater failed to turn back on after a water change. The temp dropped to 74F before I checked it. The inhabitants looked perfectly fine, so I simply unplugged and plugged it in again and it came on. Slowly took the temp back up to 79F by the end of the day. If its still a concern for you, you can either put the heater in the display or sump if you have one. I'm still trying to find time to go to town and buy a pair of clownfish and more rock. When I do, I will update with new pictures. Thanks and I HTH! Link to comment
Lalani Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 I have two new babies! One store wanted $35 for each, so I went to another store where they were $25 each. Still high, but I really wanted them. Also picked up a magfloat to make a mag frag rack. Sorry for the crapolicious pics, but they are both checking out their new home. Link to comment
Monkfish Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Awesome!! Ive been having a blast watching my two find thier way around the tank. Quick Edit there is something wrong with your water its to clear...your making the rest of us look bad Link to comment
starfish609 Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Glad to see your new additions. After they settle in we will need new full tank shots! The water is very clear, I think the blue background sets everything off dramatically. Are you going to let the blue background get covered over or do you plan to keep it clean always? Cheers Link to comment
Lalani Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share Posted March 26, 2008 Awesome!! Ive been having a blast watching my two find thier way around the tank. Quick Edit there is something wrong with your water its to clear...your making the rest of us look bad Of course there is a problem with my water.... there is none! I use a secret super viscous air. Glad to see your new additions. After they settle in we will need new full tank shots! The water is very clear, I think the blue background sets everything off dramatically. Are you going to let the blue background get covered over or do you plan to keep it clean always? Cheers I'll post some new FTSs tomorrow after I glue my hammer coral into place again. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep the back glass clean or not. I'll see what it looks like once the coralline starts growing, and then decide. One very cool thing is happening right now: Bob is large and in charge! He's larger than both of the clowns and spends most of his time watching them from his powerhead, but when they do something he doesn't like, he swims up to them very calmly and they freak out. Link to comment
Matty1124 Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 yeah your glass and water look to clear... your making me jealous... Link to comment
Lalani Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share Posted March 26, 2008 yeah your glass and water look to clear... your making me jealous... I don't know why its so clear. If I look at it in the right angle, I can see a few small bits floating in the water and I don't use any kind of mechanical filtration. Now, the glass is so clean because its new. Link to comment
lakshwadeep Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 I don't know why its so clear. If I look at it in the right angle, I can see a few small bits floating in the water. I don't use any kind of mechanical filtration. Now, the glass is so clean because its new. That might be a sign that you aren't introducing a lot of nutrients (mainly through food) in your tank. I used to battle algae growing over my glass when I had fish, but this time I don't have any fish and the back and side walls are pretty clear with just my snails' eating off most of it (it has been 9 months with no scraping, except for the viewing side, on my part). Good job getting your biological filtration very efficient! Link to comment
Lalani Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share Posted March 26, 2008 Regular film algae builds up on the glass every 4-5 days, and I just wipe it clean with a mag-float. Since starting this tank, the only fish has been a yellow clown goby and I feed him a flake and frozen food mixture once a day. Now that I have two clownfish also, I'll just bump up the amount I feed. The two clowns are swimming together already...... Link to comment
adinsxq Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 keeper of the exotic stomatella Link to comment
Lalani Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share Posted March 26, 2008 keeper of the exotic stomatella Like I told Izzue, they are almost ready for adoption. I'll try to figure out just how many of the black ones I have, along with the white/greenish guys. Unfortunately the original white/greenish one died, but the black one is still doing well and coming out during the day now. Link to comment
dtfleming Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 fishneedit.com has that light and a 4 bulb one for $47. not a bad light, but not a great one either. bought one to use for actinics. Link to comment
Lalani Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share Posted March 26, 2008 As promised: FTS. Sorry for the pics being crappy again. My shutter finger is cramping from finishing a piece of wood furniture. I could only catch a pic of one of the clowns because they are flying all over the place. This tank is so much more active with clowns! Bob is chilling out on the front glass..... Look at his pot-belly! Oh yeah! Look at how dirty my water is today! Link to comment
Roc! Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 you have the cleanest tank I have ever seen Link to comment
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